The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not necessarily prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
As used herein, a “program” is any content, visual and/or audible, that is presented through a television's display and/or speakers. For example, a program might be an episode of a multi-episode series, a movie, a sporting event, or a news presentation, although this is not an exclusive list of “programs.” When a digital video recorder (“DVR”) schedules a program for future recording, the DVR attempts to add the program to a “to do” list that the DVR maintains within the DVR's own storage mechanisms. Whenever a program on the DVR's “to do” list is broadcasted, the DVR automatically records that program.
Often, a person will be watching a program or advertisement on his television, when he will see something about which he is interested in obtaining more information. The person might even see something that he would like to purchase. However, often, the person will not have any notion about how to obtain more information (or purchase) the thing that he saw on his television. The program or advertisement might only mention a product, but might give no indication about where or how to buy that product, for example.
Sometimes, a program or advertisement will display a phone number that the person can call in order to obtain more information or purchase a product. However, some people might be too lazy, or too involved in the program that they are watching, to move to the telephone (which might not be located near to the television) and dial the displayed telephone number. Some people find telephone numbers difficult to remember, and might forget what number they were supposed to dial by the time they have the opportunity to place a telephone call.
As a result, the person often ends up not obtaining the information or product in which he was interested, and the supplier of the information or product potentially loses the person's business, from which the supplier otherwise might have benefited.